La Coop fédérée, an agri-food cooperative with establishments across Canada, has concluded, through its Agri-business Division, its acquisition of the grain and crop input assets of Cargill in Ontario after obtaining the approval of the Canadian Competition Bureau.

“This transaction is part of La Coop fédérée’s sustainable growth plan as it strives to become a leader in Canada in the agribusiness sector and will allow us to increase our presence in Ontario as well as on the Canadian market,” La Coop fédérée president Ghislain Gervais said.

“This transaction confirms our firm’s position among the biggest players in the Canadian agricultural industry, with sales totaling more than $2 billion last year,” Gaétan Desroches, chief executive officer of La Coop fédérée, noted.

La Coop fédérée executive agricultural vice president Sébastien Léveillé added, “This agreement demonstrates that the business model of the Agri-business Division of La Coop fédérée, based on the proximity of our dealers with farmers, is relevant and performs well in an industry that is experiencing, as is the case for many others, a major wave of consolidations.”

The sale conditions have not been disclosed.

Through the transaction, La Coop fédérée said the grain sector of its Agri-business Division is extending its activities, which are already solidly rooted in Quebec and Atlantic Canada after experiencing solid growth in recent years. Cargill establishments, those of South West Ag Partners and the existing grain marketing group in Ontario, will now serve as the marketing entity of La Coop fédérée, a team that will serve as a partner for farmers for marketing their harvests in local, industrial or international markets.

The transaction also adds two new dealers and multiple service points to the Agromart Group’s Ontario sourcing network for crop inputs. Ontario farmers will now enjoy the support of a network of 22 dealers working in a cooperative with local entrepreneurs across eastern Canada while offering a range of related services with fertilizers, seeds, crop protection and variable-rate applications.

As previously indicated, the sale includes the assets of 13 grain and agricultural input establishments and 50% of the shares held by Cargill in South West Ag Partners, a cooperative that includes nine grain and agricultural input establishments in Ontario. The sale excludes the export terminal in Sarnia and the AgResource agricultural input wholesaler as well as all other grain and agricultural input assets of Cargill in Canada and all other businesses belonging to Cargill in Ontario and elsewhere in Canada.

The establishments included in the sale are: